Schools

Somers Student Attending Sundance Film Festival

Kyle Gaskell is one of 24 Quinnipiac University students.

HAMDEN, CT — Junior Kyle Gaskell of Somers, Conn. is one of 24 Quinnipiac University students attending the 30th annual Sundance Film Festival from Jan. 17-24 in Park City, Utah.

The trip was planned and organized by the Quinnipiac Film Society.

"For students who want to be filmmakers or television producers, it is an amazing experience because they are in the setting where some of the most cutting-edge work is being presented to the public," said Rebecca Abbott, professor of communications. "Much of it is being presented by people who aren't much older than them and haven't been working much longer than they have. They have an opportunity to see new work, but, even more importantly, have an opportunity to meet with producers, directors and actors and learn a lot about the industry and some of the most creative aspects of the industry."

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Abbott, who serves as advisor to the Quinnipiac Film Society, said most of the students who made the trip are part of the School of Communications' Department of Film, Video and Interactive Media.

Abbott and Frederick Staudmyer, visiting assistant professor of communications, are accompanying the students at the film festival.

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The Quinnipiac contingent purchased tickets to watch the movies of their choice prior to the event. The renowned film festival also includes panel discussions and workshops.

"They have filmmakers as well as people with different crew positions talking about aspects of filmmaking and the different dimensions of the film industry," Abbott said.

Senior Shane Collins, president of the Quinnipiac Film Society, said he hopes the trip "broadens the minds of our members and gives them a venue to experience films that they would never experience otherwise."

"We've been doing this trip for quite a few years now, and it's a great way to help enhance the student experience," Collins added. "In school, we study films and their filmmakers, and at Sundance we get to interact with those filmmakers and immerse ourselves in the film culture."

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,500 full-time undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges issue. The 2013 issue of U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master's programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review's "The Best 377 Colleges." The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the "Great Colleges to Work For." For more information, please visithttp://www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.


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